


catch you when you fall

by tootiredmotel



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Multi, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Precious Peter Parker, more like, precious peter stark, tony stark is a dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-13 18:48:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14754297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tootiredmotel/pseuds/tootiredmotel
Summary: 5 Times Tony caught Peter and the 1 time it mattered most(IW spoiler, just in case)(WILL BE EDITED LATER)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this fandom lives and breathes 5+1 things
> 
> I've been putting off writing this like everything else but this one actually stuck & i've had it on my mind since the first time i saw IW april 28

**1.**   


**  
**

When Peter started walking, it was one of the proudest moments of Tony's life. Also, one of the most nerve wracking (for now). 

  


Tony would hold his boy's hands for a longer distance, but the shorter ones is what scared him more. He would sit on the edge of couch-at one point he nearly fell off. And then wait for his baby boy to make it to him. Naturally, the first couple of times, Peter stumbled. What infant didn't? But the first time Peter started to fall from trying to walk, Tony practically jumped from his spot on the sofa. 

  


Each time Peter attempted to walk and nearly fell, Tony was there. Rhodey and Happy teased him endlessly about it, but thought it was endearing. 

  


"Okay Petey Bird. We are _so close_ to walking on our own!" Behind him, Happy snorted. "Petey Bird?"  Tony rolled his eyes, guiding Peter towards the opposite facing couch. "Please, don't pretend you haven't given him a nickname." 

  


When Happy went home for the day, Tony called him by Peter's nickname for the driver, causing the man to hurry home because he's a security guard-slash-driver and he is _not a softy._  "Pete, say bye to Hap Hap!" Although, when the toddler did say bye, the man's heart might've melted a little. Not that he'd admit it. "Bye Hap Hap!"

  


With more practice of walking came more falling and Peter didn't cry once. Tony had told his son how proud he was of Peter for being a brave big boy to which the little boy answered that "Daddy always catch"

  


Tony pressed a kiss to the top of his kid's head. "That's right, Daddy will always catch you."

  


  


**2.**   


**  
**

For Peter's sixth birthday, Tony took him to a science museum in New York-he'd rented out the entire thing for the day, not wanting to deal with paparazzi on the special day. When Rhodey asked why the museum, he found out it was because the kid asked. "He's got him wrapped around his little finger", he'd told Pepper. 

  


They'd gotten to the dinosaur exhibit and Peter nearly tripped over himself in the excitement, but Tony had caught him mid trip. "Slow down there, Bambi." That, of course, only earned him an "Daaaaad, I'm not a deer!" Tony had chuckled, letting Peter scamper off to the tyrannosaurus display. He refrained from saying that no, his son is not a baby deer, but he's almost tripped like one and is as excitable.   


  


By the end of the museum trip, they'd went to get ice cream. Paparazzi found them this time. They were all standing outside the glass, taking so many pictures that Tony had to move Peter and himself to a different table out of sight because his kid starting wincing at the flashes and the yelling that could be heard. 

  


The escape would be the hard part. At first, he was just going to shield Peter in his jacket and bolt to the car, because Happy wasn't there to get them through- _he was in Malibu with Rhodey and Pepper setting up a birthday party for Peter and his friends from school._ But the store owner told Tony that if they snuck out through the back where he took out the trash, they'd be able to get to the car with a lower chance of being mobbed by camera flashes. Unfortunately, there was a photographer from waiting in the back behind the dumpster. He scared the absolute shit out of the apologetic store owner and poor Peter. 

  


Peter, who, in his haste, tripped over the camera bag. Tony had swooped in before he could make any harsh contact with the concrete, but it didn't stop the pap from losing his shit on the six year old. "Hey maybe you can teach your kid how to behave, huh Stark?" The photographer was then met with a swift punch to the jaw before the older Stark placed the younger on his hip and ran for the car. "Don't listen to him, Petey, if anyone needs lessons-" He was interrupted by the screech of tires, Happy in the driver's seat of their car halting before them. "Get in, Pepper's got them distracted." 

  


  


**3.**   


**  
**

**  
**

"I don't like it. Why doesn't your school just come here?" Peter sighed, zipping his backpack up. "Dad, it's just Oscorp. Oh, and I need more contacts." The fourteen year old pointed at his glasses. Tony folded his arms. "I'll get Happy to pick them up or Pepper to order them la-don't try to change the subject, Oscorp sucks and you know it."

  


"Yeah, but they've got a new cross species genetics project and I heard it's with spiders!" Tony tried not to laugh because _it's still Oscorp_ , but "They've got your interest and they're using it on spiders, Pete. It's a sign you shouldn't go. You hate spiders, terrified of them." 

  


Nevertheless, seven hours later, Peter came home from the trip feeling sick. "I hate to say I told you so, but..." Peter rolled his eyes. Not that his dad could see it, since he was resting face first on the cool surface of the kitchen counter. "No you don't, you love saying that." He felt pressure on his neck-Tony's hand. "Wow, you must be out of it, not even being able to counter with sarcasm." Peter moved to get up, but nearly fell over from blacking out. He would've hit the tile if Tony hadn't caught him against his chest. Next thing he knew, he was being carried to bed like he was younger again. 

  


Natasha had stopped by later, checking on favorite bedridden nephew. "I'm your only bedridden nephew, Aunt Nat." _He'd met Cooper once when he was twelve and they already declared themselves cousins._ "For now. Nathaniel's due any day and you're gonna have competition for that particular title."

  


  


**4.**   


  


  


"Stark, what should I do?" Tony couldn't believe he let Peter go to Berlin with them. If he didn't though, Peter would've found a way to get there himself or find trouble in New York himself, so no one was about to . "What we discussed, keep your distance, web 'em up." 

  


He was too distracted to see Peter kick Wilson away or catch Barnes' arm. He didn't get to witness his son's nerdy little comments throughout the fight. He did, though, see his kid get flung out of the window and then catch himself via web fluid. 

  


"They're not stopping." He should've sent Peter to Happy at this point, but would he have listened? No. "Neither are we." So he just had to make sure Peter didn't get any of the entirely completely dangerous ones. He'd have to find a way to save the shrinking guy for him. He didn't expect Peter to take on Steve, but that's exactly what he did. He held his own, for the most part. Tony had to help get the freaking freight off, so Peter didn't just stand there holding it for the duration of the fight. 

  


The shrinking guy surprised him too. Getting inside his suit, and all. But then he got big. Like, really big. "Holy shit!" He refrained from telling Peter to watch his language because literally everyone that didn't know his kid's a vigilante was there. But he was also distracted by the fact that Lang, _he'd had FRIDAY do a facial scan at the beginning and long story short, he'd get with Pym later,_ had Rhodey by the foot. "Give me back my Rhodey." 

  


"I got him!"

  


Peter did a good job of keeping Lang distracted, which in turn helped Vision discover the runaways. "Hey guys. You ever see that really old movie?" His sentences cut off every time he moved or dodged. "Empire Strikes Back?" Rhodey made a quiet comment to Tony on the side about how they'd talk about why fifteen year old Peter was there. 

  


"You know that part? When they're on the snow planet? With the walking thingies?" _God, his kid's brilliant._

  


"Yes!" _and adorable._ Rhodey gave Tony a look as the teen laughed. "That was awesome!" But the moment ended when he got smacked- _swatted, too soon_ \- down by Lang. Tony rushed over. If Peter were seriously hurt, Steve would have _two_ fugitives to hide. "Pete, you alright?"

  


"Hey!" Tony dodged a fist. "Whoa-" "Get off me-" He had to hold Peter's flailing arms to avoid getting hit. "Same side, guess who? Hi." Peter visibly relaxed and soon as he did, Tony felt a weight lift off him. "Oh. Hey Dad. That was scary" Tony nodded, still not letting go of his kid's arms. "Yeah. You're done, alright?" 

  


As expected, he argued back until Tony made the threat to ground him further. 

  


Later, much _much_ later, Peter sat on his bed as Pepper tended to his fading black eye. She came in the room with an ice pack, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Hope you got a few good licks in." Peter gratefully took the ice pack, holding it to his eye. "Yeah, I got quite a few in actually. His friend was huge, like, _huge_." Pepper got back up, making her way to the door. _Starks and their pride._ "Okay, tough guy."

  


When Tony came back, Pepper held a stern face and posture, matching her tone of voice. She let Tony know that they'd talk about Peter not being at Ned's and being in Berlin later, but she also gently let him know that the teenager was asleep. 

  


So Tony made his way to the boy's room, taking a seat on the side of the bed. He took the untamed curls as a sign of a shower, something he was about to do himself. He'd already taken two, but God knows he still felt...gross about it all. So he ruffled his son's curls after pressing a kiss to them. Peter murmured in his sleep about 'Dad catching me'. "That's right Bambi, Dad's always gonna catch you."

  


  


  


  


**5.**   


**  
**

**  
**

  


He didn't know Strange for very long, but he already didn't really like him that much. The guy interrupted a stress free jog in the park. He was having a nice day out with Pepper, Peter was on a field trip, it was going great so far. He and Pepper were discussing Peter's plans for his seventeenth birthday. Apparently, he's too cool to spend the entire day with his old man and decided to hang out with Ned and Michelle. But they had a month before all that, _before his baby turned seventeen._  

  


But he was reminded that his kid is still a _kid_. "Pete, you've gotta let go, I'm gonna catch you."  _Dad's always gonna catch you. Dadsalwaysgonnacatchyou. Dadsalwaysgonnacatchyou. Daddysalwaysgonnacatchyou._

_  
_

"I can't breathe." It comes out ironically airy, but Tony's more concerned about getting his kid to safety. "That's the oxygen, it's running low." He can see Peter turning his head a bit to look down. "Yeah, that makes sense." When Peter's grip slips and he falls, Tony's heart starts racing even faster. But then the Iron Spider suit rushes by and envelopes the boy, bringing the air filtration back.

  


"It smells like a new car in here!" Funnily enough, he was actually planning on getting Peter a car. Just because his main mode of transportation was either Happy or swinging through the city like it was an actual concrete jungle, he had to keep up appearances. "Happy trails, Bambi. FRIDAY, take him home." Before he has to argue, the parachute deploys and Peter goes down, towards Queens. He can hear the exasperated "Oh, come on!" though. 

  


Tony would rather have Peter in Queens, helping with the aftermath of what just happened, than in space where the giant prune resides. Besides, Peter would get so caught up in helping people, he wouldn't be able to make it to Bruce, who was no doubt calling Steve at this point. 

  


And there's the fact that this was probably a one way trip. He wasn't doing that to Peter. He'd trade his own life before Peter's ended too early. 

  


For the moment, he just had to come up with a way to save Strange from the Squidward looking shit. 

  


"Speaking of loyalty..." _Son of a bitch._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, meant to do this last night but I ended up going out of town again today and I had to be up early.   
> I got to see Tom yestetoday though!!

+1

 

 

If looks could kill, Strange and Quill would be long gone, because not only did they let Thanos get his way through clouded judgement. It put everyone in danger. Peter included.

 

Peter especially, it turned out.

 

“Somethings happening.” _Well, shit._ Thanos got the last stone. Vision’s dead. He has to be, unless they found a way to get it out before that plum colored ballsack face got to it. Tony doubts that though. Thanos killed his own daughter-what’s to stop him from killing anyone else?

 

But he can’t think about that right now, because the antenna girl, Mantis is her name, just disintegrated and her ashes flew off. “Quill?” There goes the big guy.

 

But then Quill turns to him, after watching his friends disappear. “Steady Quill.” As much as he’d hate to admit it, he, Peter and Strange could use Quill’s help in- “Oh man.”

 

“Tony. There was no other way.” With Strange gone, they had no way of getting back to earth, how were he and Peter supposed to go home?

 

“Dad?” _Please, god, just let him be worried about everyone._ He’d take scared and homesick over what he fears is about to happen. “I don’t feel so good.” No. Absolutely not. No way, no how. “You’re alright.” You have to be, I won’t let you be anything else. Peter’s stumbling towards him, like when he was first learning to walk all over again. This won’t be as sweet. “I don-don’t know what’s happening, I don’t understand-“

 

_Catch him. Catchhim. Catchhim. Catchhim!_ “I don’t wanna go, Dad, please, I don’t wanna go.”

 

Tony’s trying not to outright sob, hold himself together because his boy needs him to be strong, to hold him and keep him there. “I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna go.” Peter’s voice breaks at the same time Tony’s heart does. His knees give out and he’s laying Peter on the ground. _Damn stab wound._

 

“I’m sorry.” 

No, you don’t have anything to be sorry for, Pete. He doesn’t say this, too in shock to do anything but hold his son in their last moments together.

 

Peter turns to ash too, and all Tony has left of him is the ash on his hands. Peter.

 

_My Peter. My kid, my boy. My Peter._

_I’m supposed to catch you._

 

 

 

 

**BONUS**

 

 

He’s in Wakanda, with what’s left of everyone again. And Nebula.

 

 

Everything’s supposed to return to normal, Wong even set up for everyone to be portaled to Wakanda, somehow.

 

 

But they’re all still waiting.

 

 

One by one, people start coming back. Rhodey is greeting Sam, Steve’s gripping Bucky like he might disappear again. Tony can’t blame him.

 

 

Natasha is squeezing Wanda’s shoulders, like a worried big sister that doesn’t show too much emotion, but Tony knows that she’s capable of it. She and Clint found out about Tony before the others on the team, and she became Aunt Nat.

 

 

The princess, Shuri, is hugging T’challa, because they’ve apparently gone through this before. Okoye is there too, and T’challa’s not-girlfriend, he hasn’t met her yet, smacks him upside the head. “You ever do that again and we’ll display the video Shuri took in the lab.”

 

 

Rocket, he’s refrained from telling Thor that he’s not a rabbit, he’s a raccoon, greets his team. He hugs the teenage...tree. He’s obviously refraining from hugging the other members, but Tony can relate to that. “Where’s Gamora?”

 

 

“Stark. Glad to see you pulled it off.” Strange and Wong stood side by side. Tony would rebuttal, but if Strange is back then that means-

 

 

“Dad?”

 

 

Tony’s never ran so fast, he thinks. But he does, because Peter’s back. He’s there, solid and all. It was like a movie, when they ran towards each other. Well, Tony ran, Peter more like wobbled over.

 

 

When they reached, Tony gripped his boy tight. And when Peter’s knees buckled, Tony caught him. “I’m always gonna catch you, Pete.”

 

 

He later had to carry his kid to the medical center, in case of a concussion from being slammed into the ground and thrown at a boulder. Peter was on him piggyback style. Upon reaching the cots, Tony’s hand never left Peter’s curls until a doctor came to check up. He really wanted Shuri or Bruce, or hell, even Strange with his medical background, but they were all busy.

 

 

“I’m glad your boy was returned to you soundly, Stark.” Thor offers a kind smile, but Tony can tell he’s in a bittersweet kind of mood. He’s happy for those that returned, but misses his brother. “He’ll come back. It’s Rock of Ages’ thing. No one does it better.”

 

 

“Yes well, we’re all hoping to find everyone well.” Tony can see the search and rescue group behind the god of thunder. Wanda and the guardians. “The rabbit says we should be able to find a source for Vision in place of the stone.”

 

 

They’d tried the new hammer, since that’s what gave Vision the push he needed to come back, but they needed a replacement for the stone.

 

 

Tony made his way back to Peter when Thor’s “Revengers” left. The name seemed fitting now, but he’s not getting into it. He didn’t want to leave Peter in the first place, but there was a lot to be done so he wouldn’t be dragged out of the room later, because there’s no way he’s leaving his son’s side any time soon.

 

 

“Hey Dad.” The lack of enthusiasm in his son’s voice didn’t concern him considering how tired they all were, but the emotion was still there all the same. “Hey Bambi.”

 

 

For the next week-until Peter was deemed ready to leave and everyone was caught up-Tony never left his kid’s side.

 

 

The flight back felt both too short and too long. Too long, because the Stark’s were ready to be home. Too short, because the entire way home Peter was leaning against Tony, the latter couldn’t get enough of it.

 

 

Peter was finally asleep, hopefully nightmare-less. Tony pressed a kiss to his head, wrapping his arm tighter.

 

“Dad’s always gonna catch you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this was worth the wait:)

**Author's Note:**

> so yeah I'll edit this asap, I've been busy & will be busy this weekend bc I'm going to see Tom tomorrow!!!


End file.
